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We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

There is a great interest in developing eco-friendly operations as alternative uses of resources in the university campus, making the employment of technologies more sustainable. Practices such as energy management and efficiency initiatives have been encouraged to meet these sustainability goals. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the main features of the GENIIOT project, a system of energy management using Internet of Things applied in a Brazilian university campus to support energy education practices and to promote lasting energy efficiency measures. The focus of the study is directed at the energy consumption of the air-conditioning system, which is responsible for 40% of the total electricity consumption. In addition, this project also scrutinizes processes such as the building occupants’ comfort demands, lighting levels and energy waste control.

A case study at the Unicamp campus was conducted to illustrate the design procedures through qualitative description. This study comprises an overview of the physical plant, hardware and software development, energy data monitoring, management process and energy education.

The GENIIOT project enables energy efficiency actions by concerning the use of air-conditioning equipment based on monitored data, different types of monitored rooms, user’s behaviors and their feedback. This initiative requires the engagement, awareness and actions from users combined with investment in energy efficiency to achieve an efficient use of this type of equipment. The proposed approach can be applied in the future to similar situations, inside the Unicamp campus and at other university campuses. In addition, this project can contribute to building efficiency analysis by using the hardware structure developed to monitor facilities and carry out evaluations, providing valuable information for strategic initiatives in energy efficiency projects and research and development programs based on practical experience and promoting a discussion about sustainability aspects in the context of the university campus for energy efficiency.

The GENIIOT project is aligned with some of the sustainable development goals, among which sustainability and responsible consumption are identified. Considering the sustainability issues, the economic dimension can be evaluated through a cost–benefit analysis of energy efficiency projects with prudent investment, while the social attractiveness of the project is ensured by education and awareness practices for the community that interacts with the system and learns about a more efficient way of using resources in the campus. Furthermore, there is a more conscious use of natural resources by minimizing waste from the use of electricity and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. GENIIOT is part of Sustainable Campus Project, a living laboratory which aims at developing energy-efficiency-related research activities in the university campus to reduce costs in higher and federal institutions of education in Brazil.

Doctoral programs are primarily intended to train new professors and researchers to take positions requiring research competency. This paper aims to observe the scientific production of 734 Brazilian new PhDs in management and the possible link between the scientific output of the graduates and doctoral program rank.

Methodologically, the authors built a database collecting the journal publications of the first six years after doctoral degree of all PhDs in management graduated by Brazilian doctoral programs during the period of 1998-2008. The authors use cluster and descriptive analysis to explore PhD publication.

Results show a great disparity of productivity, where 10 per cent of all new PhDs account for most of the Brazilian research productivity, while most of the PhDs have a very low performance – and that the CAPES (the Brazilian institutional system) qualification of doctoral programs is not a good predictor of the performance of the future graduates. Results are discussed to understand this productivity gap among researchers in a context of a developing country where support institutions are working to improve quantity and quality of publication.

The results are useful for recruiters that need to decide between hiring new PhDs with low productivity graduated from high-ranked programs or new PhDs with high productivity from programs with more modest ranking. At least in part, the authors’ results question the real impact that the doctoral program’s prestige has on the performance of its graduates.

There are implications for the future candidates to a management PhD program, for the Directors of these programs and for the institutional agencies that regulate and promote science and that establish the prevailing rules and norms that researchers and institutions follow.

The results are adamant in pointing out that there is a small group of highly productive new PhDs – that the authors called “stars”. Generally speaking, they may find these “star” new PhDs in several doctoral programs. They have also found that some of the new PhDs have a relatively higher level of international papers published, but not necessarily a larger volume of publications. Meanwhile, most PhDs present a very low level of performance. This has important contributions to the way they perceive the doctoral education in management, especially in Ibero-America, revealing insights about the quality of PhDs and PhD courses.